22.10.2024 | 
Aston Villa and Bologna are going into the third matchday of the Champions League in a completely different situation. The Villans have a chance to make an epic success while the visitors are hoping to at least get on the board.
Aston Villa and Bologna meet on 22.10.2024, as both teams have a rare opportunity to compete on this level. The game takes place at Villa Park on Tuesday.
| Aston Villa | Tuesday, 22.10.2024, 15:00 EST | Bologna |
| 1 | x | 2 |
| 1,68 | 4,00 | 5,30 |
Aston Villa – Bologna: Initial situation
Both teams have barely lost in their last ten games, but it is a fact that Aston Villa possesses more quality. The team from Birmingham has one of the greatest fans in the world, and now that the Villans are in the Champions League, a ticket for Villa Park is one of the hottest on the market. Bologna will feel the heat on the pitch, and they hope to at least stay undefeated.
Aston Villa Stats & Form
After playing in the UEFA Conference League last season, Aston Villa made a huge success by reaching the biggest level of competition in Europe for the first time since the 1982-83 season. They made sure to take full advantage of the opportunity and won both games at the start of the season, 3-0 on the road in Bern against Young Boys and 1-0 at home against the six-time European champion, Bayern Munich. The team from Birmingham is playing very well in the Premier League, being in fourth place in the standings with five wins in eight games. Villa has 7 wins in their last 9 games overall and is coming off a 3-1 road win against Fulham. Ollie Watkins is the best player on the team with 5 goals and 2 assists in the Premier League.
Bologna Stats & Form
Bologna is back in the top European competition for the first time since the 1964-65 season. Vincenzo Italiano took over the team after three years in Fiorentina, and he is doing a solid job keeping in mind the quality of his roster and the club’s budget. Bologna goes to the third round of the competition with only one point, after a draw against Shakhtar and a loss to Liverpool. Things are not going well for Bologna in Serie A either, since they are 13th in the league and have only one win in the last ten games in all competitions. Last week, the Red and Blues played 2-2 against Genoa which is their seventh draw in the last ten games. Santiago Castro is the best player on the team with three goals so far in the domestic competition.
Aston Villa – Bologna: Head to Head
This will be the first match ever between Aston Villa and Bologna.
Aston Villa – Bologna: Odds
Aston Villa is a major favorite going into this one with the odds of 1,68. The odds for Bologna’s win are 5,30 while the draw is set at 4,00. The total goal line is set at 2.5 with 1,82 for over and 2,05 for under.
Top 3 Betting Odds
| Aston Villa – Bologna Betting Tip | Odds |
| Over 2.5 goals | 1,82 |
| Over 3.5 goals | 3,07 |
| Aston Villa to win and over 2.5 goals | 2,46 |
Betting tip and prediction: Aston Villa – Bologna (22.10.2024)
This is a unique opportunity for Aston Villa and Bologna to participate in the Champions League. No one really expected any significant result from these sides, but the team from Birmingham is among those going into the third matchday with a perfect record. Beating Young Boys on the road in the opening games was already a big deal for the Villas, but the home win against Bayern Munich will go in the history books as one of the biggest in the rich history of Aston Villa. Now that Unai Emery’s team is in a situation to seriously focus on advancing to the knockout stage, this game is of high importance for Aston Villa. Bologna has only one point after two rounds in the Champions League after a scoreless draw at home against Shakhtar and a 2-0 loss against Liverpool at Anfield. It seems like Vincenzo Italiano did what he could with the roster he has, and it is obvious that the Italian team is not on the level to be competitive among the elite. They are a defensively oriented team that has played seven draws in their last ten games overall and has won only once in that stretch. They are pretty inefficient in Serie A as well, scoring only 9 goals in 8 games. What makes things even more difficult for the Red and Blues is the injury list. Strikers Dan Ndoye, Samuel Iling Junior, and Nicolo Cambiaghi, midfielders Tommaso Pobega and Michel Aebischer, and defender Martin Erlic are all out for Bologna. On the other side, only Jacob Ramsey will not be available for Villa. Taking the stakes on this game, the injury report, and the support on the packed Villa Park, it all goes in favor of the team from Birmingham, but as we have witnessed many times, football is unpredictable. At the end of the day, it is pretty difficult for Aston Villa to win their third straight game in the Champions League and for Bologna not to score in their third consecutive. Given that, we prefer to go with over 2.5 goals in total.